A Dark Room vs Reigns
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
A Dark Room
Experience a minimalist text-based adventure where you must survive and build a community. This award-winning game offers a deep narrative and engaging gameplay without any in-app purchases or ads.
- Text-based survival gameplay
- Community building mechanics
- Minimalist interface
- VoiceOver playable
- No ads or in-app purchases
- Retro gaming feel
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awake. head throbbing. vision blurry. the voices say to survive. - One of Apple's most downloaded apps of 2014. - Ranked in the top 10 games in 70 countries, #1 app overall in 7 countries. - No ads, no loot boxes, no IAP, no tracking. - 100% playable via VoiceOver. - Relive the glory days of gaming from the era of Zork.
Reigns
Rule a medieval kingdom by making decisions with a swipe of your finger. Balance the needs of various factions, from the church to the army, to extend your reign. Each choice has consequences that can lead to your dynasty's downfall.
- Swipe-based decision making
- Kingdom faction balance
- Dynasty survival
- Event spanning centuries
- Multiple ways to die
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Sit on the throne as a benevolent (or malevolent) medieval monarch of the modern age and swipe your royal fingers either left or right to impose your will upon the kingdom. Survive the seemingly never-ending gauntlet of requests from your advisors, peasants, allies, and enemies while maintaining balance between the influential factions of your kingdom. But beware; each decision you make might have implications and unfortunate consequences down the road that could put your reign and family’s dynasty at risk! Each year of your reign brings another important – seemingly random – request from your unpredictable kingdom as you strive for balance between the church, the people, the army, and the treasury. Prudent decisions and careful planning make for a long reign but unforeseen motivations, surprise events, and poor luck can take down even the most entrenched monarch. Extend your reign as long as possible, forge alliances, make enemies, and find new ways to die as your dynasty marches along through the ages. Some events will span on centuries, with an intrigue involving burning witches, scientific enlightenment, wicked politics and, maybe, the Devil himself. *iPhone 5 / iPod Touch 6 / iPad Mini / iPad Air or later recommended.
Screenshots
Verdict
A Dark Room and Reigns both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 93% of A Dark Room's written reviews are positive against 70% of Reigns's. A Dark Room also leads on price ($1.99 vs $2.99). Reigns's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On rating, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
A Dark Room costs $1.99 and Reigns $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for A Dark Room against 4.8 for Reigns. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.7K and 7.6K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 93% of A Dark Room's written reviews are positive against 70% of Reigns's.
A Dark Room ships an update every 2 months, Reigns every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on November 12, 2026.
| Parameter | A Dark Room | Reigns |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (2.7K ratings) — better | 4.8 (7.6K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 92.7% of reviews — better | 70.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2.7K | 7.6K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #29 | #11 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 103 MB | 124 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Amirali Rajan | Devolver |
Customer experience
A Dark Room
Reigns
Bugs and requests
A Dark Room
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Reigns
Reported bugs
4 issues- Blank/corrupted cards
- Crashes and freezes
- Save file corruption
- Compatibility issues on newer devices
Requested features
5 requests- More content and storylines
- Ability to customize the king/kingdom
- Improved UI and feedback on decisions
- Difficulty settings or options
- Cross-platform/cloud save support
In-app purchases
A Dark Room
No in-app purchases
Reigns
No in-app purchases









